Political Blog Preparation

Students,

This week in "The 'New Social'" we will be focusing our energies around Election 2012 coverage and the upcoming Presidential Debate in Colorado this Wednesday.  Let the political preparation begin!

Blog #9:  "Political Blog" - (Monday & Tuesday)
A)  Browse:  http://magazines.scholastic.com/election-2012/faqs-election
      Create a  list of 10 "Did You Know" facts based on evidence from the article listed above.
B )  Browse - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/issueengine/issueengine.html
* Categorize the above 18 political issues that reflect issues that are:
                IMPORTANT                  SEMI-IMPORTANT               NOT IMPORTANT

Physical & Thematic Maps

EarthBuzzers,

You will create a 7-Line poem about a country of your choice.  Choose any country you like.  Follow the format below to write your poem or rap.  You will use information from physical and thematic maps  and www.factmonster.com

Line 1:  Country name
Line 2:  One PHysical feature located in your country
Line 3:  Two adjectives describing your country's climate
Line 4:  Two details about your country's vegetation
LIne 5:  Two adjectives describing your country's population density
Line 6:  Two details about land use or resources in your country
Line 7:  Region Name

1.)  You must include 3-5 images of any of the above descriptions
2.) Add colorful and creative touches to decorate your poem or rap

3.)  You will upload this to your blog!

CNN Student News

CNN Student News "Shout-Out!"

CNN Student News

Each day we begin class viewing "CNN Student News" and become informed about national and international issues facing us today.  This is an excellent forum for students to apply skills that we are learning in Geography to real world scenarios and settings.

To date, news stories have covered an array of topics from Election 2012, Mars, Curiosity Rover, Endangered Species, conflict in Syria, Afghanistan, political jargon busters, texting and driving, among many stories!  Aside from the daily "Shout-Out," (this is our favorite portion of the news segment!), we enjoy the news stories that feature information on animals.  Did you know that there are only 1600 Pandas in the wild?  To learn more about this segment on Pandas and other topics, click on the link above or listen to the library of podcasts!

Our class has become registered with CNN Student News and have placed a "Shout-Out" to be recognized on a future webcast.  Wish us luck!  We will post the report IF this happens :)

"The New 'Social'"

Bloggers,

On your mark, get set, go!  Wait, we have already been up and running with these blogs for nearly two weeks (Can you believe we just started our 3rd week of middle school?!)!  Already, you have authored two blog posts providing insight into pieces of your personal culture and sharing with us your first selection for a new story.   I have been able to watch individual personalities come out through article choices, writing styles, blurbs of personal expression, creative design of blog templates, and clever responses to other posts.   To say the least, we have definitely begun our journey of blogging in a new social environment.  

Where does this all this blogging take us?  What comes next?  What is the purpose of our writing?  Who is our audience?  What would you like to be the purpose in a relative short amount of time?  Why is it important to share and initiate dialogue, news stories, and personal interests with classmates?  What will you gain from this experience and how will impact you as learner in a digital world of the 21st century?  

We will begin to explore these questions in the days and weeks ahead.

Here is the criteria for Blog Post #3:
1.)  Browse any of following blogs:  Nat Geo Kids, Denver Post, Scholastic,
      & Denver Public Library Blog
2.)  Select two-three authors from any of the above combination of blogs. 
3.)  Can you identify the blogger, audience, and purpose of each blog you select?
4.)  Title your blog post based on one of the author's interest!
5.)  Create a review of 2-3 bloggers from the below hyperlinks that includes:
       a.) Identify the name of blog:  Ex. Global Bros
       b.) Hyperlink the blog:           
http://kidsblogs.nationalgeographic.com/globalbros/2009/11/global-bros-highlights-from-the-road.html
       b.) Identify the name of blogger (author(s))    Ex. Tyler & Stefen
       c.) List the projected audience of this blogger:    Ex.  Young travelers
       d.) List the purpose of this author's blog:   
       Ex. Share information about different locations on Earth and learn more about different cultures. 

National Geographic For Kids Adventure & Book Blogs:
http://kidsblogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/
http://kidsblogs.nationalgeographic.com/dogeared/meet-our-bloggers.html 

Scholastic Blogs:  Current Events For Kids!
http://blog.scholastic.com/

All Things Colorado Sports:
http://blogs.denverpost.com/sports/

Denver Public Library Blogs:
http://denverlibrary.org/Blog

Looking forward to Blog Post #3,
Ms. Donahue :)